Trivia Without The Pursuit

Author: Amy Hillgren Peterson

I grew up in a game playing family. When I was nine, I received Boggle for Christmas. I pulled out the instructions and read them aloud as my relatives gathered ‘round, “Just shake up the lettered cubes, drop them into the grid and start the timer. Then race to see who can list the most words—with the highest point value—among the random letter assortment in the grid!” There was a clear plastic cover that fit over the grid so that the sound of letter cubes hitting it over and over while it was shaken echoed throughout my aunt and uncle's rambling Connecticut home.

That week was filled with excursions into the City—the Rockettes, The Nutcracker, and Annie on Broadway, as well as a silver anniversary gala at the top of Rockefeller Center, but what I remember most from that week was the loud “shake-a, shake-a, shake-a” sound from the Boggle game. My Boggle game came to define our family gatherings—the noise, the little notepads and pencils, and a dozen people gathered around the little grid, squinting.

Fast forward 25 years—now I’m the parent with a nine year old daughter and two boys: twelve and two. I wanted us to be a gaming family because games teach patience, turn taking, good sportsmanship (whether you win or lose), and most importantly how to truly enjoy the company of others.

With the huge age difference between the two year old and the older children, playing board games can be challenging. The two year old would prefer to play with all of the game pieces and flip the board over which often results in the older children shouting, “You aren't old enough to play” and my two year old begging, “PwEEEEze!!!!”

Then a remarkable thing happened.

Our older children, avid Harry Potter fans, received the Harry Potter Trivia game for Christmas. The Harry Potter Trivia game was filled with questions based on the books, which contain more details and subtle differences from the movies.

There we were, sitting in the living room with no table, no game pieces, no scorecard, and no game board. The relaxed environment allowed our two year old to run around, sit next to whomever was reading a question, look expectantly at the rest of us, and wait for the answer before shouting, “Right!” when the correct answer was said.

We had so much fun when their father arrived we pulled out Trivial Pursuit Kids Edition.

That night, I learned Trivia games bring the element of conversation into a game night, allowing us to learn something new about each other. Adults get to share their childhood and early adult years with their children and children get to educate their parents on what’s happening today or help by reminding us of important facts in the movie…“Remember, Mom, when Professor McGonagal was telling them about the Sorcerer's Stone?”

Trivia games provide a chance for everyone in the family to be together; whether it’s an entire evening of entertainment or to kill an hour on Sunday afternoon.